2013-01113. Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Upon Written Request Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 20549-0123.

Extension:

Rule 605 of Regulation NMS.

Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (“PRA”), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) is soliciting comments on the existing collection of information provided for in Rule 605 of Regulation NMS (“Rule 605”) (17 CFR 242.605),^[1] under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a, et seq.) (“Exchange Act”). The Commission plans to submit this existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) for extension and approval. Rule 605, formerly known as, Rule 11Ac1-5, requires market centers to make available to the public monthly order execution reports in electronic form. The Commission believes that many market centers retain most, if not all, of the underlying raw data necessary to generate these reports in electronic format. Once the necessary data is collected, market centers could either program their systems to generate the statistics and reports, or transfer the data to a service provider (such as an independent company in the business of preparing such reports or a self-regulatory organization) that would generate the statistics and reports.

The collection of information obligations of Rule 605 apply to all market centers that receive covered orders in national market system securities. The Commission estimates that approximately 366 market centers are subject to the collection of information obligations of Rule 605. Each of these respondents is required to respond to the collection of information on a monthly basis.

The Commission staff estimates that, on average, Rule 605 causes respondents to spend 6 hours per month to collect the data necessary to generate the reports, or 72 hours per year. With an estimated 366 market centers subject to Rule 605, the total data collection time burden to comply with the monthly reporting requirement is estimated to be 26,352 hours per year.

Based on discussions with industry sources, the Commission staff estimates that an individual market center could retain a service provider to prepare a monthly report using the data collected for approximately $2978 per month. This per-respondent estimate is based on the rate that a market center could expect to obtain if it negotiated on an individual basis. Based on the $2978 estimate, the monthly cost to the 366 market centers to retain service providers to prepare reports would be $1,089,948, or an annual cost of approximately $13,079,376 million.

Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted in writing within 60 days of this publication.

The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB control number.

Please direct your written comments to Thomas Bayer, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, Virginia 22312 or send an email to: [e-mail].

Dated: January 15, 2013.

Kevin M. O'Neill,

Deputy Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  Regulation NMS, adopted by the Commission in June 2005, redesignated the national market system rules previously adopted under Section 11A of the Exchange Act. Rule 11Ac1-5 under the Exchange Act was redesignated Rule 605 of Regulation NMS. No substantive amendments were made to Rule 605 of Regulation NMS. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 (June 9, 2005), 70 FR 37496 (June 29, 2005).